In this file photo dated Sept 2, 2019, students from a school in Tung Chung, New Territories, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, kick off a new semester by holding a flag-raising ceremony. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

Hong Kong’s education sector on Tuesday voiced support for the nation’s move to draft a law to enhance patriotic education. The proposed law  also sets out requirements for enhancing national identities of the people in Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions, boosting their national pride and recognition of Chinese culture, and safeguarding the unity of the nation. 

On Monday, a draft patriotic education bill was submitted to the third session of 14th National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) for its first reading.

Principal Wong Ching-yung of Scientia Secondary School in Ho Man Tin said the draft law provided a legal safeguard for carrying out patriotic education in Hong Kong

The draft highlights the education of children and young people and specifies that schools at all levels should integrate patriotic education into the entire educational process. It also proposed to adopt various initiatives to boost Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan people’s national identity.

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Wong Kam-leung, headmaster of the HKFEW Wong Cho Bau Secondary School in Tung Chung, said many schools in the city have actively promoted Chinese culture through reciting Chinese articles, and practicing martial arts and calligraphy and painting, which is in line with the requirements of the draft law. 

Wong, who is also chairman of the Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers, said he hoped that the Education Bureau would roll out patriotic education textbooks for primary and secondary schools after the draft law was passed. In the meantime, the bureau should guide students to safeguard socialism and the leadership of the Communist Party of China, he said. 

Principal Wong Ching-yung of Scientia Secondary School in Ho Man Tin said the draft law provided a legal safeguard for carrying out patriotic education in Hong Kong. Patriotic education in many of the city’s schools is still in its infancy, with many focusing on formality and weighing little on the effectiveness, Wong added. 

The draft law will be made available for public consultation on the NPCSC’s website. 

The session, which started on Monday, will conclude on Wednesday. 

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Starry Lee Wai-king, Hong Kong deputy to the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), the country’s top legislature, who is in Beijing for the third session of the NPCSC, told the press that the SAR government will draw up plans accordingly in alignment with the draft law’s promulgation, once it is passed.

The Education Bureau has already rolled out a slew of measures on patriotic education, she added. 

To enhance patriotic education, Lee suggested opening up the People's Liberation Army Hong Kong Garrison Exhibition Center located at Ngong Shuen Chau Barracks to the public, and establishing a museum of war history and the history of the Communist Party of China. There is a need for more such facilities to allow the public to know more about the PLA and the country, Lee said.